Whitley Strieber on Meditation

I posted this about a year ago on my blog site as a variation on the basic Relaxation Response/Mantra type meditation that should be the foundation of your practice. If you’re confused about what type of mantra to use, Whitley provides an excellent answer. The effects can range from simply quieting the mind to temporarily erasing the socially learned self. It can be quite breath-taking if practiced regularly.

Whitley Strieber may be best known for exploding the alien abduction phenomenon onto the national consciousness, but he’s primarily a talented horror writer and Internet radio host. He’s also a lifelong meditator and has been playing host to a weekly meditation group on his website for years now. Some of his meditations are quite interesting, as they are sometimes directed towards contact with non-human intelligence’s. Whitley was never a big proponent of the “the visitors are space aliens!” perspective and over the years he’s moved towards a more shamanistic viewpoint.

Most of his meditations are for subscribers only (on his old website, anyone could listen in, but you had to be a subscriber to download). I really urge anyone who is interested in using meditation to achieve higher consciousness become a subscriber.

I’m going to share one of his meditations that I’ve used extensively. It’s fairly simple, yet the effects can be very profound. For most of us, our identities are tied up in our names. Everything that we are is summed up in a few short syllables. When I say my name – Samuel – it unleashes a flood of memories and emotions that I equate with myself. So powerful is the name with our self-image that we often cannot make lasting changes without first changing our name. This is common among actors and rock stars, and we instinctively mimic the idea for fictional characters. From a shamanistic point of view, Bruce Wayne does not have the same strengths and abilities as Batman does. The Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker could not truly embrace the Dark Side until he gave up all the qualities associated with that name and became Darth Vader. Stanley Eisen is just a guy from New York; Paul Stanley is the rock star singer for KISS. Joanne Germanotta is a talented singer, but Lady Gaga is the superstar. We are both limited by and empowered by our names.

Samuel Morningstar is the author of the DIRK GARRICK OCCULT DETECTIVE and SHADOW KINGDOM series. He is an occasional rock singer/guitarist, a black belt martial artist concentrating on Bujinkan and Hoshinjutsu, and has Masters Degress in Psychology and Business Management. He has been studying the occult for over 30 years and often refers to himself as a mystic, as he believes that makes it more socially acceptable to wear a black cape in public. He lives in Kansas City with his wife and two rather annoying cats.